Getting the most out of attending the NZ Law & Technology Conference

Attending the New Zealand Law and Technology Conference will be a beneficial learning experience for you and your firm.

The event provides a platform to help educate and prepare you for how to effectively embrace technology for today and into the future.

The one day conference is specifically designed to provide the latest legal technology developments and practical information which is relevant to the day–to-day practice of legal professionals. The event provides the opportunity to hear what other firms are currently doing, and predicting how technology may be used by lawyers and their firms in two or even five years’ time.

I thought I would provide a few tips to help you gain greater value from attending the New Zealand Law and Technology Conference.

Have a game plan

After attending many legal technology events, I have realised the importance of having a ‘game plan’ – have a plan of what you want to get out of the event. You may ask yourself –

What do I want to get out of the New Zealand Law and Technology Conference?

What sessions do I want to see?

What exhibitors have solutions that may interest me, and I want to speak to?

Are there any technology demo sessions that I should attend?

There are many choices in the exciting schedule, with the flexibility to change between the tracks. Have an idea of the topics and speakers you want to hear from, so you can devise a game plan prior to the day.

I usually set myself a goal to learn something new, whether it be a session or meeting a new provider. This allows me to learn something outside of my comfort zone – it may be that you cross over to see what is happening in the other track this year !

One of the great opportunities of the conference, is it provides the the only chance in New Zealand annually to interact with the leading legal technology experts in the field – all under the one roof. Sometimes within your organisation, you may not always get the opportunity to interact with like-minded people when it comes to technology.

Get there early. Registrations open at 8am, which is the same time the Exhibition Hall opens. This provides a good opportunity to meet some of the exhibitors prior to the start of the formal proceedings at 8.30.

Bring a colleague

Attending events alone can be daunting.

Our ticketing options are designed to encourage flexi and group discounts. Many of the firms attending are taking advantage of our new ‘flexi-pass’, by sending two employees that can attend at various parts of the day. One of the most common take-ups is for a Partner/senior representative to attend the early keynotes and then a junior to attend the more specialised sessions later in the day.

If you are new or attending the event for the first time (or if you are the only one from your organisation), then drop by the Registration station. We can facilitate introducing you to anyone you might like to meet – speakers, sponsors or simply other delegates.

Exhibitors are there to help you

They don’t bite, and they are not there to sell you a used car !

Each exhibitor has a product or service that may help to make you perform your job more efficiently.

Take full advantage of our new ‘Meet the Exhibitors’ session. Prior to the first break each exhibitor has 60 seconds to show who they are and what they do. This is a great opportunity to identify who is most applicable to you, so you can make a point of speaking to those exhibitors at some point during the day.

You may not have a lot of time to spend with all of the exhibitors on the day, as there is a lot to see and do. If you do not want to speak to them on the day, then at least, trade contact details so you can follow up properly once you are back in the office.

Interact – join in the fun

Make sure you stay around for the networking drinks at the end of the day. In our past three years this has always been a relaxed and enjoyable way to unwind and discuss the various happenings of the day.

You can keep up on what is happening prior to and on the day by following us on Twitter. This will have important details about the day, reminders about sessions and some of the details about prize draws of our sponsors.

Each year we want to make the event a better experience for all attending and look to evolve the concept year on year.

At the conclusion of the conference we will provide you with a survey to find out more about your experience. We really appreciate your feedback – what you liked, what you didn’t and areas that we can continue to evolve the event.

Hopefully these tips will help you get even greater value from the New Zealand Law and Technology Conference.